Fissures within Marine-turned-cabbie Robert De Niro deepen violently as he navigates a distressed and distressing N.Y.C.; per Pauline Kael, “as Scorsese has designed the film, the city never lets you off the hook.” Startling even by ‘70s cinema standards, the movie generated box office, Oscar nods, and watercooler talk that has never abated. Scorsese himself makes a cameo appearance as a passenger; the killer cast also includes Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Albert Brooks, and — in one of her career-defining roles — Jodie Foster.